IRS will shut down at least five days this summer due to sequestration

With the April 15 tax filing deadline passed, the Internal Revenue Service is
alerting its employees they will soon begin up to seven days of furlough
staggered through the remainder of the fiscal year.

The furloughs will take place May 24, June 14, July 5, July
22 and Aug. 30. Two additional days are possible in August and September,
according to acting Commissioner Steve Miller.

All 90,000 IRS employees will be furloughed on those days,
closing all the service's public operations including taxpayer assistance
centers and phone lines. The closings – coupled with hiring freezes and travel
and training restrictions – were put in place to deal with some $600 million in cuts
during this fiscal year.

"Everyone is covered by this furlough, and that means
everyone from the acting commissioner and executives to managers and
employees," Miller said in an email to staff sent last week. "Some
mission-essential IT and security personnel, who maintain systems and building
safety, may need to work on these furlough days, however they will be taking
furlough days on alternative dates within those pay periods."

"On these (furlough)
days, phones calls to the IRS will go unanswered and Taxpayer Assistance
Centers across the country will have 'closed' signs in their windows," NTEU
President Colleen Kelley said. "I believe this is an unprecedented event that
leaves taxpayers out in the cold."

The IRS move comes on the heels of the FAA starting
furloughs for more than 47,000 FAA employees, including 15,000 air traffic
controllers. They will be furloughed one day every two weeks.